Crossing a Contaminated River

In Benue State, Nigeria, this farmer crosses a contaminated river every day to reach her farm, her only source of livelihood. The water is poisoned by chemical waste from a nearby industry that has long used the river as its dumping ground. Complaints have been made to local rulers, but nothing has changed. The community continues to live with the danger that flows through their only source of water. For her, this crossing isn’t a choice; it’s survival. Her home lies on one side of the village; her farm, on the other. What I saw as a crisis, she has accepted as her daily reality. This image captures her return from the farm, carefully stepping through polluted water, a scene that repeats itself every day, through every season, in quiet defiance of a system that looks away.

Uploaded on 21 October 2025.